The little way of Saint Thérèse

A young Carmelite showed that holiness fits into the small things of everyday life, done with love.

Thérèse entered Carmel at only 15 and died at 24, in 1897. She founded no works and made no great journeys. Even so, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. What she taught was a simple way: to trust God as a child trusts its father, and to turn each small gesture into an act of love.

She chose to be called Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. She contemplated the wounded face of Christ and learned there to love in hiddenness, without needing applause.

For a young person, the little way can look like this:

• Doing well what no one sees: studying, chores at home, work.

• Smiling at someone who is hard to deal with, instead of paying them back in kind.

• Offering Jesus one frustration of the day, instead of complaining about it.

• When you fail, starting again without despair, trusting in mercy.

Holiness is not for a few. Thérèse proves it is for anyone who loves.

To pray

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, teach me your little way. May I know how to love in simple things and to trust God as you did. Amen.